Twitch is failing marginalized creators as instances of hate raids, harassment, and virulent toxicity have spiked on the platform. Content creator and #TwitchDoBetter originator RekItRaven joins us to discuss.

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Epic Games is under fire for wholesale copying Innersloth’s Among Us for a new Fortnite Mode. Also: the latest on Activision Blizzard, earnings updates (Starbreeze, Remedy, Paradox, Unity, Roblox, Embracer Group), NPD, and more.

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TIME STAMPS

• [00:00:58] - Krafton’s IPO Woes
• [00:03:31] - App Annie and Sensor Tower Mobile Gaming Reports
• [00:07:11] - US Senate moves to take on Apple, Google with Open App Markets Act
• [00:13:13] - Epic Games Store self-publishing enters closed beta
• [00:13:49] - Fortnite shamelessly rips off Among Us
• [00:20:26] - People Can Fly has not yet received revenue from Outriders
• [00:34:46] - Investment Interlude
• [00:51:07] - Quick Hits
• [01:09:12] - Activision Blizzard Update
• [01:18:53] - California DFEH takes aim at Riot Games
• [01:21:10] - Ubisoft Singapore under investigation for harassment and toxic workplace allegations
• [01:22:10] - Starbreeze Earnings
• [01:25:39] - Remedy Earnings
• [01:28:23] - Unity Earnings
• [01:31:51] - Paradox Earnings
• [01:39:51] - Roblox Earnings
• [01:46:39] - Embracer Group Earnings
• [01:49:50] - No More Robots celebrates four year anniversary
• [01:50:58] - NPD report for July 2021

SOURCES

• Beijing’s tech crackdown casts long shadow over South Korea’s biggest IPO in a decade (South China Morning Post)
• 2021 Mobile Gaming Tear Down (App Annie)
• Senators want to rein in Apple and Google’s app store dominance
• TRUST NOBODY: INTRODUCING FORTNITE IMPOSTORS
• No entitlement to royalties on the sale of the “Outriders” game for PCF Group S.A.
• Jesse McCree, Diablo 4 Director No Longer At Activision Blizzard (Kotaku)
• Activision Blizzard’s contract workers say they’re ‘crushed’ by toxic culture (Polygon)
• SOC Investment Group takes aim at Activision Blizzard
• DFEH Files Request for Enforcement of Court Order Compelling Riot Games, Inc. to Send Notice to Workers about their Right to Speak with the Government
• Ubisoft S'pore under probe over workplace complaints (The Straits Times)
• Starbreeze Interim Report First Half 2021
• Remedy Half-Year Review (January 1 - June 30 2021)
• Paradox Interim report January - June 2021
• Unity FY21 Q2
• Roblox FY21 Q2
• Investigation: How Roblox is Exploiting Young Game Developers (People Make Games)
• Roblox "exploiting" young game developers, new investigation reports (Eurogamer)
• Embracer Group First Quarter FY2022

INVESTMENT INTERLUDE

• Unity Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Parsec
• Embracer Group Snaps Up Three More
• ROBLOX ACQUIRES GUILDED, A PLATFORM TO CONNECT GAMING COMMUNITIES
• Thunderful Group acquires To The Sky and Tussilago
• TinyBuild acquires Animal (GamesIndustry)
• Rovio Entertainment to acquire hyper-casual game studio Ruby Games
• Sony Pictures Entertainment Announces the Completion of Acquisition of Ellation Holdings, Inc., Operator of the Anime Business Crunchyroll
• Rolocule Games acquired by Dream Sports
• Keywords Studios plc Acquisition of AMC RO STUDIO
• Roblox acqui-hires Jim Greer’s Bash Video platform (GamesBeat)
• NACON ANNOUNCES THE ACQUISITION OF CREA-TURE STUDIOS, MONTREAL BASED VIDEO GAME STUDIO, BEHIND THE SUCCESS OF « SESSION »
• VR dev XR Games nets $2.1 million to expand team and create new franchises (Gamasutra)
• Mountaintop raises $30M Series A
• Israeli startup raises $2m to develop the next-gen academy platform for Esports teams (EuropeanGaming.eu)
• Kalam Labs raises $450K for its livestreaming platform for educational games (GamesBeat)
• Seattle-based Starform raises $5 million to scale up ahead of game reveal (Gamasutra)
• AviaGames raises $40M to diversify gaming
• Hero Concept received investment from WePlay Ventures with a valuation of 3 Million Dollars

Raw Fury has agreed to a majority acquisition by Swedish investment group Altor. We spoke with Raw Fury founder Jonas Antonsson about the publisher’s growth, its path to acquisition, and how funding will accelerate new projects.

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The pandemic isn’t over, but as the world starts to reopen, gaming revenue starts to settle into a new normal. We discuss Take-Two, Nintendo, Sony, EA, Zynga, Sega, and Square Enix.

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TIME STAMPS

• [00:03:26] - Take Two
• [00:18:42] - Nintendo
• [00:39:33] - Sony
• [00:44:41] - EA
• [01:04:37] - Zynga
• [01:21:06] - Sega Sammy
• [01:24:40] - Square Enix

SOURCES

• Take-Two FY22 Q1 Earnings
• Nintendo FY22 Q1 Earnings
• Sony FY22 Q1 Earnings
• Sony doesn't view dip in PS Plus subscribers and PSN users as 'declining trend' (Gamasutra)
• EA FY22 Q1 Earnings
• SOC Renews Call for Say-on-Pay “No” Vote
• Zynga FY22 Q2
• Sega Sammy FY22 Q1
• Square Enix FY22 Q1

Xsolla decided it would be a great idea to fire 150 people via email, publicly shame them, and then threaten its remaining staff. Also: the latest on Activision Blizzard, why indies aren’t immune from toxic environments, and more.

Content Warning: Sexual Harassment (Activision Blizzard) from 46:00 through 01:14:00

Content Warning: Toxic Work Environment (Fullbright) from 01:14:00 on

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TIME STAMPS

• [00:01:30] - Tencent shares tumble on Chinese state media careless remarks
• [00:07:44] - Xsolla boss fires and publicly shames 150 employees by email
• [00:13:20] - Investment Interlude
• [00:32:28] - Quick Hits
• [00:46:13] - An update on Activision Blizzard
• [01:14:04] - Inside Fullbright’s toxic work environment

Activision Blizzard leadership continues to fail in its response to the California DFEH lawsuit and its own employees. Ubisoft employees are renewing their demands for change and a seat at the table. Also: Microsoft and Capcom earnings.

Content Warning: Sexual Harassment, Suicide from 00:51:39

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TIME STAMPS

• [00:02:42] - Microsoft FY21 Q4 Earnings
• [00:13:18] - An update on Sony sales figures
• [00:17:38] - Capcom FY22 Q1 Earnings
• [00:26:24] - Investment Interlude
• [00:34:47] - Quick Hits
• [00:51:39] - Much has happened with the Activision Blizzard lawsuit since last week

SOURCES

• Microsoft FY21 Q4 Earnings
• PlayStation 5 Surpasses 10 Million Units Sold, Remains the Fastest Selling Console in Sony Interactive Entertainment History
• Capcom FY22 Q1 Earnings
• A Letter From CEO Bobby Kotick to All Employees
• Activision Blizzard employees call leadership response to harassment suit ‘abhorrent and insulting’ (Polygon)
• Inside Blizzard Developers’ Infamous Bill ‘Cosby Suite’ (Kotaku)
• Fury, Worry, and Walkouts: Inside Activision Blizzard's Week of Reckoning (IGN)
• Blizzard Recruiters Asked Hacker If She ‘Liked Being Penetrated’ at Job Fair (Vice)
• Activision Blizzard Cancels Any Further All Hands Meetings, Prioritizes “Discussion Sessions” With No Mention of Walkout (Uppercut)
• Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI) Accused of Sexual Harassment Against Female Employees
• Ubisoft workers demand company accountability in open letter (Axios)
• Ubisoft CEO says 'important progress' has been made since 2020 harassment scandal (PCGamer)
• Ubisoft group says Yves Guillemot has "sidelined" its demands as CEO responds to open letter (GamesIndustry)
• Former Blizzard Developer and ArenaNet, Undead Labs Founder: "We Need Unionization" (IGN)

INVESTMENT INTERLUDE

• South Korean game developer Krafton IPO to raise $3.75 bln (Reuters)
• Jam City, Inc. and DPCM Capital, Inc. Mutually Agree to Terminate Business Combination Agreement
• Horizon Blockchain Games Raises Funds From BITKRAFT and CMT Digital to Drive Web3 Adoption...

Activision Blizzard has perpetuated a culture of sexual harassment and pay discrimination for years, according to a lawsuit filed by the State of California. The company can’t seem to decide how to handle the suit with Blizzard and Activision Publishing leadership expressing shock and remorse while GOP corporate hires blast the suit and the state for standing up for non-male employees.

Content Warning: Sexual Harassment, Suicide from 55:00 to 01:42:00

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TIME STAMPS

• [00:01:45] - Tech Talk: A Quick Update on SWOLED and Gabe Gear
• [00:07:40] - SOC (Formerly CtW) Urges EA Shareholders to Vote “No” on Say-on-Pay
• [00:13:15] - Niko Partners Report on the Global Esports Market
• [00:22:57] - Investment Interlude
• [00:39:20] - Quick Hits
• [00:55:30] - Activision Blizzard’s Culture of Harassment, Toxicity, and Pay Inequality
• [01:42:13] - IGDA Issues Call to Action Regarding NFTs and Blockchain
• [01:45:03] - Ubisoft Q1 FY22 Earnings

SOURCES

• SOC (formerly CtW) asks EA shareholders to vote NO on Say-on-Pay
• California DFEH v Activision Blizzard
• Call to Action: Blockchain in Games
• UBISOFT REPORTS FIRST-QUARTER 2021-22 SALES
• French game workers union sues Ubisoft for 'institutional sexual harassment'
• Niko Partners: Asia is 54% of the $1B global esports market (GamesBeat)

INVESTMENT INTERLUDE

• Recommended Cash Acquisition of Sumo Group PLC
• Tencent Takes Majority Stake in Stunlock Studios
• Sketchfab is now part of Epic Games
• Unity Acquires Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. (IDV), Creators of SpeedTree® Environment Creation Suite
• Xsolla Launches Game Investment Platform
• Games Publisher Tilting Point Raises $235M to Fuel Expansions and Acquisitions (The Hollywood Reporter)
• Pipeline raises $2M to teach gamers how to stream for a living (GamesBeat)
• Scopely invests $50 million in European game studios Omnidrone, Pixel Toys, and Tag Games

Big deals, new hardware, and a lot of platform chat fill our second episode this weekend. Highlights: Google’s pay-for-play plan, Sony drawing indie ire, Switch OLED, and the “Gabe Gear.”

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TIME STAMPS

• [00:01:20] - NPD for June 2021
• [00:09:18] - Remedy and 505 renew their deal for more Control games
• [00:15:29] - Konami signs development deals with Tencent and Bloober Team
• [00:19:39] - Humble confirms permanent shifts to charity “sliders”
• [00:26:32] - Stadia shifts partner payments to pay-for-play
• [00:38:44] - Indies share grievances with Sony
• [00:56:30] - Switch OLED and Steam Deck discussion

SOURCES

• REMEDY SIGNS A CO-PUBLISHING AND DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT WITH 505 GAMES FOR A MULTIPLAYER SPIN-OFF GAME OF THE AWARD-WINNING CONTROL
• The strategic partnership of Konami Digital Entertainment and Bloober Team
• Announcement of Business Alliance with Bloober Team S.A.
• Stadia Keynote
• Utah v. Google says Google Illegally Maintains an App Store Monopoly; Unfairly Edges Out Competition
• A lawsuit that ignores choice on Android and Google Play
• Changes Coming to Humble Bundle Sliders
• Iain Garner on Twitter
• Why Indie Publishers Are Fed Up With PlayStation (IGN)

We’re back and we missed you! In our first of two episodes this weekend, we’re covering a ton of acquisitions, investments, and quick hits. Highlights include: Sony’s spending blitz and a huge number of studio openings.

You can support Virtual Economy’s growth via our Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com/virtualeconomy

TIME STAMPS

• [00:03:37] - Investment Interlude
• [00:32:44] - Quick Hits

SOURCES

• GAMING GAMING INDUSTRY UPDATE (Drake Star Partners)
• Take-Two Interactive Software Acquires Dynamixyz
• Welcoming Housemarque to the PlayStation Studios family
• KRAFTON, INC. ACQUIRES THINGSFLOW, AN INTERACTIVE CONTENT PRODUCTION FIRM
• GameSquare Esports Announces Acquisition of Complexity and $8.5 Million Bought Deal Financing
• Team17 Group plc - US $26.5 million acquisition of StoryToys
• MTG acquires leading word games developer PlaySimple and discloses pro forma figures for its gaming vertical
• SciPlay Acquires Casual Game Developer and Operator Koukoi Games Oy
• Sentropy x Discord: A Safer Tomorrow
• New Dedicated Roblox Developer Talewind Receives Investment From Top Games Angels
• Dream Games raises $155M at a $1B valuation as its Royal Match puzzle game hits a royal flush (TechCrunch)
• Drop Fake raises $9M to hit the reset button for gaming authenticity (GamesBeat)
• Vela Games raises $17.3m in Series A funding (GamesIndustry)
• VR studio Fast Travel Games raises over $4m (GamesIndustry)
• Community Gaming Receives $2.3M in Seed Funding, Led by CoinFund, to Build Automated Esports Tournaments
• Buzz Capital invests $594K to finance 2 game projects (GamesBeat)
• Resolution Games Closes $25M Series C Funding Round

Revenge of Pax Pox (News Show): Activision shareholders narrowly approve Bobby Kotick’s pay package, while EA makes significant changes after last year’s failed Say on Pay vote. Also: PAX West returns without vaccination requirements, Microsoft details Windows 11.

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TIME STAMPS

• [00:01:00] - Comparing Activision and EA executive compensation
• [00:21:10] - Investment Interlude
• [00:31:25] - Quick Hits
• [00:41:15] - Listener Question
• [00:51:10] - Windows 11 and Gaming
• [00:56:16] - PAX West? PAX Pox.

SOURCES

• Activision Blizzard pulls out a win on say-on-pay proposal that includes $150 million CEO pay package (MarketWatch)
• Activision Notice of 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders and Proxy Statement
• EA Notice of 2021 Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement
• Windows 11: The Best Windows Ever for Gaming

INVESTMENT INTERLUDE

• Electronic Arts Acquires Playdemic, Makers of the Highly Successful Golf Clash Mobile Game, From Warner Bros. Games and AT&TDaniel Ahmad on Twitter re Tencent/Yager
• Azerion accelerates European Growth with major acquisition in Germany
• Tencent takes over majority of the Berlin studio Yager (Games Wirtshaft)
• GamerzClass closes $2.5M seed round bringing total to $4.2M (Esports Insider)
• Rivalry raises $22m in funding round as IPO roadmap gathers pace (EGR)
• GXC raises $4.73m in Series A funding (GamesIndustry)
• Boom Corp. raises $1.8M to make social games like Boom Slingers (GamesBeat)
• VRChat Partners with Anthos Capital to Close $80M Series D